


Practice

by fairytaleweaver



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: F/M, Gen, NO ONE EVER TOLD YOU LIFE WAS GONNA BE THIS WAY, daemonfucker eleanor hume living with her life choices, papa rokurou, poor eleanor, screaming kids, you fucked a daemon eleanor what did you expect?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 19:55:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15517401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytaleweaver/pseuds/fairytaleweaver
Summary: Rokurou comes home after a few months of wandering around killing things- only to be stalked by a vicious attacker.





	Practice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Misty_Reeyus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misty_Reeyus/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Mist! I remember that we joked about this exact scenario happening so I figured it'd be a good birthday present. Hope you enjoy~

Sunlight filters through the trees that line the path that leads to the edge of the upcoming town. This particular path is less used, and it shows from the array of wild flora that lies in scattered patches along the edge of the pathway. A pleasant breeze brings the scents of spring with it, the smell of flowers and fresh air.

The flowers hadn't been in bloom the last time he'd walked this path.

_Rustle._

It's lovely, and he understands why Eleanor chose this particular area to settle down. It suits her well- and he certainly can't say that he dislikes it. And as much as he enjoys and lives for the thrill of battle- this sort of peaceful place isn't bad every so often.

_Rustle._

Besides, she and the kids were safe here. Well, Eleanor could certainly keep herself and the kids safe all on her own- but given that one of the children liked to...wander... a bit- it was preferable that the area itself was safe.

The rustling stopped.

"AAAARGHHH." A high pitched battle cry from behind and he turns just in time to see a young girl with a mess of red hair burst from the tall grass she'd hid herself in and charge out at him. In each hand, the girl holds a short, but seemingly study stick. She covers the distance in a rather impressive short amount of time- considering her own short little legs- little more than a red blur. The next thing he knows, the small girl with the wild red hair stands at his ankles, jabbing them with the sticks she had in each hand and letting out a wild battle cry with each "attack".

Rokurou blinks and bites back a chuckle, and looks down at his attacker.

"Good to see you too, kiddo."

His attacker stops her onslaught and looks up at him with a wide, toothy grin.

"Papa! How did I do?" Both of her weapons of choice are still firmly sunk into his zabi, making contact with his skin. Pretty impressive for a small kid to get that much power into her blows. He _had_ to give her points for that. 

"Better than last time. You're getting fast. But your sneaking still needs some work." Rokurou drops to a squat, looking at the girl with a fond smile.

She says a word that he can't say he didn't teach her and one that her mother would not appreciate her knowing at her age.

"Try not to say that in front of your mother." 

Eleanor would have his _hide_ if she knew.  

"Okay." His daughter agrees, still pouting at that she had not, as she thought, managed to sneak up on him. 

She still seems rather put out though. 

Well, that's something he needs to fix.

She lets out a surprised squeak as he laughs uproariously when he sweeps her off her feet and into his arms. She promptly drops her little sticks and they tumble to the ground. The girl in his arms turns to face him properly, looking up at him with amber eyes so much like his own- mostly hidden under a messy mop of wild red hair. She grins at him, bouncing in his grasp rather like an overexcited puppy.

Good, his little plan worked.

"You're back you're back you're back!" She all but chirps eagerly.

"Sure am. Where's your brother?" Rokurou asks, tilting his head curiously as he adjusts his grip on the energetic little girl. He was at a risk of dropping her if she kept moving like that. At the mention of her brother, however, she stops and huffs in annoyance.

"Mom told us to take a nap. I didn't wanna but he said that we had to because mom told us to. So I left him." There's a mischevious sparkle in her eye as she says the last bit, all but cackling at her own daring as she turns away for maximum effect.

Geez, this kid has so much energy.

"Whats so wrong with a nap?" He asks lazily, already knowing her answer but wanting to hear it anyway. She had no idea how entertaining she was. 

"It's boring and takes forever!" She turns back to look at him dramatically, her body jolting upwards as she nearly shrieks her answer. How his daughter manages to have this much energy he'll never know.

"Fair enough." For her, he believes it.

She smiles up at him victoriously. Much rather like she had won a battle that he did not know he had been fighting. The smile doesn't last long as she gives him a good once over. He doesn't think much of it at first- before remembering that he's covered in month's worth of blood and viscera.

"You should probably take a bath. You stink." Sometimes, she really resembled Eleanor.

"Thanks, kiddo." Rokurou sighs.

"Mom said she wouldn't let you back in the house if you came home smelling like you rolled around on dead things."

What did she think he was, a dog? 

"Then I'll have to hit the stream first." He responds, his tone carefree.

Wait a second.

He stops for a moment on the path, looking at the child in his arms. She looks back, confusion all over her face. But more than that, there's mud everywhere on her, twigs sticking out of her hair. A smear of Empyreans knows what on her pants and shirt. She was just about as filthy as he was. 

" _We'll_ hit the streams first." Nothing like a good time to bond with your kid than an impromptu bathtime.

"I don't wanna." She makes a face.

"Me neither kid. But if either of us want to remain in your mother's good graces we have to." Rokurou says goodnaturedly as he steps off the path and towards the where he knows the river is beyond the trees.

"Only if we get to play." She retorts almost immediately, trying not to show her excitement. 

"Sounds good to me." 


End file.
